The Good Dad
by Nature9000
Summary: When Beck brings a strange invention of Robbie's over to show Mr. Vega, he is given the chance to see into other realms. Skeptical, he tries the machine out and is surprised by what he finds. Sickened and horrified, David uses the invention to depart and attempt to correct what went wrong in the other realms. However, the worst may need more than a simple lashing.


The Good Dad

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: This is kind of a crack oneshot that I'm doing to balance out a character in my mind, and have a little something fun for my readers. Primarily written as a response to my version of David in "Red Light Deux"

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-HAPPY FATHER'S DAY-

David enjoyed a morning cocoa made by his youngest daughter, while sitting in his recliner wearing a robe fit for a king that was gifted to him by his eldest. In his right hand he held his coffee mug while in his left, he held the morning paper. "This robe's a bit heavy for summertime, Trina." His daughter was in the kitchen, preparing the morning breakfast.

They weren't letting him do anything on this special day, and were treating him like the king of his castle. As much as he enjoyed their company, it was getting a bit tiresome. Mainly due to the fact that he wanted to get back to work.

He felt Tori's arms hugging his neck and looked up to see her standing over him, smiling down. "Beck's got something he wants to show you later. He says it's awesome, some invention Robbie made." He chuckled briefly and lifted his drink up to his lips. "Claims it actually works."

"Since when does anything that boy touch work?" Trina walked over and raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Have you tried it yet?" David matched her skepticism without surprise, she did get her desire to question everything from him. "What does it even do?"

"I don't know. Beck said it's some kind of travel device. Robbie used it on himself and vanished, then returned seconds later." David jerked his head back and lowered his mug towards his lap.

"Well now I'm interested." He'd never heard of an invention quite like that before, it seemed other-worldly. "I won't mind seeing it whenever Beck brings it by."

"We don't use it without us, if it does work." Trina laughed and Tori moved her hands to her hips. "Jason and I are going out for the day."

"Long as you two stay safe, I'm fine with it."

"Love you, dad." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He looked at her with a proud smile. Tori mimicked the gesture and David felt his heart and ego swell with pride.

They took too much concern for him, but he didn't mind. Ever since he'd been shot on the job, they were always looking out for him, but that was months ago it felt like. "You know you don't need to wait on me, right?" It was as though they spent every waking minute trying to make sure he was safe or okay.

"We just don't want lose you," Tori replied softly, "I know you think we worry too much but you're our dad. We love you."

"Love you too, now go spend some time with your friends or your mom." He smirked jokingly and Tori rolled her eyes. The girl smiled at him and walked over to the kitchen with her sister. "I swear, I'm supposed to be the protective one. I take care of you, not the other way around." He sipped on his drink and closed his eyes as he took in the warm liquid.

After several hours, the girls were gone and Beck had come over to show him the invention. "So what is this thing?" It was a cylinder on wheels and rose to a height of six feet.

Beck walked around the container and opened a door, revealing a screen inside with several buttons. "Robbie calls it an inter-dimensional window. We can see ourselves in other universes and even travel."

"You're kidding, right?" He laughed once and walked towards the machine. Such a thing should probably not exist, even if it did work. "What would be the use of it?"

"I don't know. Maybe if you saw a version of yourself and wanted to change something, you could?"

He rubbed his chin and started to step inside, glancing at the screen with a spark of curiosity. "I see." It still seemed to be a pointless invention. "You say Robbie tested it on himself and it worked? What did he see?"

"I'm not sure. He said he saw himself in Las Vegas doing a puppeteer act. This was during a time in which in that world Trina was working in Vegas as a CSI, but separated from the family."

"Why?" He whisked his hand away from his chin, stunned that there would be a world in which Trina would be separated from her family. "No, I don't believe that for a second."

"Well why don't you try it out and tell me what you see?"

"A load of bull, probably." He may as well humor the guy. There was no way such a device would work, and there was no such thing as alternate dimensions.

As Beck shut the door, David grabbed the nearby visor and set it to his head while muttering about the pointlessness of such a machine. Beck's voice could be heard from outside the container, instructing him on how to use it.

Rolling his eyes, David faced the screen and pushed his finger down on a thumbprint indicator. "This better be good." Once the print was scanned, the machine startled him by reading out his name with a computerized female voice.

_"David Alejandro Rodriquez Vega, age fifty one. Los Angeles Police Chief, husband to Holland Abrams Daniels, age forty-six. Father to Katrina Vega age twenty-one, and Victoria Vega aged nineteen." _

"Okay that's just frightening." He leaned back and called out to Beck. "What's the prank! I'm waiting for a prank or something! God I hate computers, they drive me insane."

As he pressed another button, the machine spoke again, saying that it would reveal five alternate dimensions in which he existed. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Alright, I'm game, show me what you've got. Damn machine."

What followed horrified him, to the point he believed it to be some computerized trick that Robbie invented. In one universe he told the ruler of another nation to keep his oldest daughter and send his youngest daughter home, laughing and mocking his daughter as though she were nothing. This ended when his youngest daughter declared she wanted nothing more to do with him.

"I would…I'm a good father." He furrowed his brow and scoffed, ordering the machine to change the view. Yet another displayed a workaholic who blatantly ignored his family, showing now time or concern for them. His eyes narrowed as his heart sank into his stomach.

The third did not seem too harsh. He wore a crown and a king's robe, ruled over a nation, but did not agree with his daughter's choice of lover. Another came which horrified him.

In this vision, he was a weakened shell of a man. Holly was his second wife and Tori his stepdaughter. His oldest had moved away to college, driven off by her stepfamily. Eventually this stepfamily disowned her and gave him no say or control over being able to see his daughter.

When David watched himself on the screen, he was horrified to see the man grab his gun and kill his wife.

His hand flew over his mouth, trembling as he let out a shrill cry. "Oh god, what am I seeing?" He started to fall to his knees, holding back strong desire to break down. "It's not real, none of that is real."

"Dad, no," Tori's voice beckoned. David's head shot up and he looked to the screen, terrified by the thought of another horrible dimension.

Surely there wasn't another. There couldn't be more, or perhaps the last was the worst of it. "Please, whatever you are, have a heart. Show me something good…"

As the vision played out, he clutched his heart and let his body tremble with each painful beat. This version of him was a sick, diseased man who spent years committing an unspeakable crime to his own family.

"No," David's breath escaped his lips as he fought to turn his eyes away from the screen. Soon he was able to close them, but the sound of his daughters crying broke him. Then came his wife, screaming at him, calling him a devil. "No. What evil is this!"

His hands gripped the edge of the screen and he glared down, watching with an increase in rage as this demonic version of him slipped into the rooms of his children. "Not me, this is not me! I protect, I am a protector. I don't harm those I love." His fist clenched and he slammed it down on the screen, screaming out in vain as pain shot through his body. "Break, damn you! Break!"

Instinctively he reached for the gun holstered in his hip, but in doing so, his elbow struck another button. Startled by the computerized voice, he froze and listened to the words in horror. "Now transporting to alternate world."

"What? No, that's not what I want!"

The machine began to sound off a siren that pierced his ears, causing him to fall into sitting position. A loud scream left his lips as he felt himself being throttled from side to side.

When the noise ceased, the machine grew still and calm. David slowly pulled himself to his feet, holding the screen to steady himself. "What in the hell happened? Beck? Beck, are you out there!" He waited for a response, but none came, so he would have to investigate himself.

Once he opened the door, he found himself face to face with another version of him. This version stared back with identical horror while he attempted to process what was going on. "Shit, the damn machine does work."

As it worked, it did give him an idea. Still reeling from the final vision he saw, he was fueled by a powerful anger and desire to correct this problem. "So which one are you?"

"What do you mean?" Asked the alternate. "Who are you, or if you're me, what the hell is going on?"

"I'm from an alternate world. You're either the devil, the killer, the king, workaholic, or the _funny_ man." Thinking still about the devil, the grasp around his gun tightened. A sneer stretched across his face and he gently tilted his head to the right. "Tell me, what situation are your children and wife in right now?"

He would protect his family to the death no matter what, even if it wasn't his universe. He loved his daughters, he loved his wife, and he didn't want to see them harmed, so if that meant killing himself in another world, so be it. Then maybe a death wasn't needed, some of these 'alternates' could potentially be saved.

However the demon had to die, without question he was going to make it his soul duty to kill the devil.

"I am not sure," the alternate replied, "I guess they're doing whatever it is they wish." David pushed his weapon into his holster with a heavy sigh and looked back at the machine. "I need to get back to work, however. I'm sure my daughters are doing just fine-I think Tori's got some performance she's doing tonight, but I have to work on paperwork."

"I see." This was the workaholic. He scratched at his forehead and recalled everything he saw from this particular universe. "No. You're not doing this right. You're not paying enough attention to your family-you will lose them."

"What?"

"You'll lose them, you idiot." David explained how his children will come to resent him for never paying any mind, and how Holly will divorce him for Gary.

The workaholic remained skeptical, as was expected. "How do you even know this?" David cleared his throat and gestured to the machine.

"Tori's damn friend brought up some hunk of junk and turned it into some goddamn dimensional travel thing. I had the misfortune of seeing myself in other worlds, and now I'm pissed."

"I…see…"

"Just take my advice into consideration. Do something before you lose your family!" He didn't have time to waste on this man, he needed to get a move on.

Leaving him behind, he started to type on the keypad, then struck the enter key. The transportation threw him to the side once more, causing the bile in his stomach to rise.

When he stumbled out of the machine, he could hear Holly screaming at this version of himself. "Oh great, this is the stepfamily. Alright, the killer is here." He took a deep breath and walked forward, stopping at the doorway to poke his head around the corner.

"I'm only saying, she's my daughter," The alternate remarked. "You're disowning my daughter."

"You should be more focused on who is important, the people that didn't leave your sorry ass behind." David winced as this version of himself bowed his head like a child taking a lashing. "Tori and I won't leave you, so maybe you should just forget your other."

"I-I…fine." The man threw his hands into the air and stormed off, leaving Holly standing with a satisfied smirk. David's jaw fell and a wrinkle formed between his eyebrows.

"No, I don't think so. It doesn't end like this." He could see why the man committed the murder, out of desperation and grief. Thinking fast, David rushed forward to pretend to be this universe's version, but with a backbone. "On second thought Holland, why don't you go fuck yourself?"

Holly's jaw dropped and she stared back with wide eyes. "Excuse me?" Her hand moved to her chest while David cocked a bright smirk.

"You heard me. I'm putting my foot down. That is my daughter you're talking about, whether you like it or not, I am not going to desert her." He took a step forward, glaring into her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke louder, drowning her out. "You can either accept my daughter as a part of this family, or you can get the fuck out. So yes, go fuck yourself."

Holly's hand sailed through the air to slap him, but he caught her wrist and glared into her eyes. David's nostrils flared as she pulled her hand away. "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

"Apparently a man who married a bitch." She gasped out as David grabbed the cell phone from her hand. "Now. I want you to kindly sit down and shut the fuck up for a minute. I am going to call my daughter, and we are going to fix this mistake before you ruin everything. And trust me, it will be you that bites the goddamn proverbial bullet for this."

Dialing Trina's phone number, he was pleased when her voice answered. Thankfully the numbers were the same in other dimensions. "Trina?"

"Dad. What do you want?" Her voice was shaky and full of sorrow. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Trina hear me out. I'm going to work on this, I promise. You are my daughter, and I love you very much." The girl's scoff tore him to pieces. Even when this version was not the version he knew and loved, it still killed him to hear such anguish from her.

"After you let Holly talk to me like that?"

"No. I'm putting her in her place right now, she will not treat you this way again. I just wanted you to know that I support you, and I support whatever decision you make. Whatever you do in life, you have my fullest support." Her breathing hitched, then she began to sob. "I love you. I'll always love you."

"I…I love you too dad, but-but I need you to actually be a father. Show some backbone once in a while."

"I will. I promise." When the phone call ended, he turned to Holly and tossed the phone into her lap. "Consider the fact that I just saved your ass from future grief, I want you to listen to me now and listen well." He leaned forward and waved a finger in her face. "You will not treat my daughter like shit, and you will have more respect for her, and for me. Don't forget that I married you, and just as quickly as that, I can divorce you. Do you want that?"

The woman shook her head and David flashed an irritated smile. "So glad we could have this little talk, Holly." The woman rose up from the couch trembling, then slowly left the room. Before he had a chance to make his way back to the machine, his alternate's head poked in the room.

"I-I don't know who you are," the alternate replied, "But thank you!" David turned and raised an eyebrow, chuckling to himself. "You saved my relationship with my daughter just now, didn't you?"

"I don't know, but I know you'll have some work to do. Focus on having a damn backbone once in a while, stop letting your wife push you around, and remember that blood comes first."

"Yes. I…I will."

"Goodbye, Dave."

The next transport, he felt more at ease. When he arrived at his destination, he tugged on his shirt cuffs and stepped out of the machine. David's eyes scanned the surrounding, trying to figure out where he was this time.

When he saw himself sitting on the couch, looking at a computer, he knew which version it was. For the man was talking to the Chancellor from a foreign country. "So. The funny man." He smirked and cleared his throat.

"What?" The alternate looked up and his eyes froze on David. "H-Hold on Chancellor sir, there's…someone here." The alternate squinted and rose from the couch. His eyes studied David closely, scanning him from head to toe. "Who are you to look like me?"

"I am you, and I know what you're about to do." Wasting no time on pleasantries, David grabbed the man's shirt and yanked him out of the camera's view. "You're about to tell the chancellor to keep your daughter."

"Er, how do you know that? It's a joke, by no means would I be serious."

"No? How do you think your children will take it? Will you be laughing when Tori sends you a text message saying she wants nothing more to do with you?" The alternate's eyes widened as David clenched his fist. "Will you be laughing when Trina takes the job as nanny for the Chancellor's kid?"

"I-You don't think."

"You think it's funny to treat your daughters like they are nothing?" Out of anger and disbelief that there could be a version that would sell his own flesh and blood out to a foreign person, David thrust his fist forward into the man's jaw. The alternate fell to the ground with a scream and clutched his face.

"What the hell!" His voice was slurred and blood was now seeping from his lips. Smirking, David straightened his hair and walked towards the computer.

"Seeing as how you can't talk right now, I'll talk for you." He sat before the computer and looked to the Chancellor with a serious look. "Chancellor. I know you are upset over the accident that happened, as well as the escape attempt. Please understand that my daughters are not aware of your customs in this strange country. If you wish to pursue a case, allow them the right to a trial-I will see to it that a lawyer is hired for them."

"There is no need," the chancellor replied sadly, "I do not wish a big deal made out of this. I am simply willing to negotiate their release as you have requested."

"What do you want? I'll see to it be provided…" His eyes drifted to the man on the ground, then narrowed as his alternate groaned in pain. "Any means necessary to have both of my girls returned home safe."

"Yes, yes, then let us make arrangements. Surgery for my vision will cost quite a bit."

"Consider it paid."

"And my pet octopus."

"Consider that paid." His alternate slammed his hand on the ground, screaming loudly, but to no avail. David's eyes flicked from the alternate and back to the chancellor. He saw his daughters in the background, staring with shock and awe. "Anything to see my daughters returned home. I love my children, and they are worth more to me than anything you can put a price on."

"Yes, well. I am…moved by your concern for your children." The chancellor took a deep breath and bowed his head, thinking for some time. "I will see them returned to you, but they are henceforth banned from this country and will be arrested should they return."

"Sounds like a fair deal. Thank you, Chancellor." He smiled at his daughters and gave them a nod. "Trina, Tori, I look forward to seeing you two home. Don't ever forget, your father loves you."

He shut off the computer and looked down to his alternate. "Well, funny man. Sorry about the jaw, it'll heal…" He rose from the couch and pulled on his cuffs while looking down to his weapon. "I've got one last version to meet."

When he arrived in his final destination, he was careful to examine his surroundings. For this was where the demon lurked. "Okay you perverted little fuck, where are you?" He held his hand over his gun and squinted his eyes while scanning the room. "Come out, come out you sick little man."

How a version of him could be so depraved, so twisted, so vile, he would never know. As much as he hated the thought of gunning down a version of himself, he felt this would be the only way to truly save his wife and daughters in this world.

"Such a shame I can only come at present moments, otherwise I'd time travel back to a time before you were so sick…and kill you then. Save Holly and the girls a lifetime of misery."

"The voices said you'd be here." A gunshot rang out and David leapt to the side as a burning sensation ran through his side. He groaned loudly and twisted to see his version standing in the doorway with a gun ready to fire on him. "You're just another hallucination, just another trick by the demon in my fucking head."

"Really? Because from what I'm seeing…" He removed his hand from where the man's bullet grazed him. A sneer stretched across his face and his eyes darkened over the demon. "You're the demon."

"Oh?"

"How could you harm your own daughters in such a way? How could you put them through such pain?"

"They've left me now. What does it matter?"

"Good." He pulled the hammer back on his gun and snarled at the demon. "That means they're safe from your fucked up hands."

"I may be fucked up, but what about you? You're the one come here to kill me. Is that it? You're going to play executioner? Demon!"

"Filth! You have no right to speak!" He could see the insanity in this man's eyes. Years-worth. The longer he looked, the more ill he felt. "What kind of disease do you have?"

The demon began to laugh, throwing his head back and whistling. "My god the hallucinations are great today! Making a vision of myself appear and lecture me on morals! Yet he bleeds!" The man's eyes darted onto David and his nostrils spread apart. "How does a figment of my imagination bleed, unless I imagine it to bleed."

"I'm no hallucination. Freak. I'm the good father." He whisked his gun through the air and pulled the trigger. Smoke filled his nostrils as the sound of the bullet echoed through the air.

The demon's eyes widened and he fell back onto the bed, groaning as blood flowed like a fountain from his chest. David walked towards the man, sneering as he stood above him. "N-No please…"

The demon's hand lifted and his eyes turned onto him. He coughed as his chest heaved forth. "What are you? Spirit, demon, dream? I-I can change, I can get better. I can be better."

"No, I don't think you can." David shook his head and looked to the window with a long face. "I am shocked that there is a world, a universe where I am so insane. So diseased. I wish to go home to my daughters, whom I love, and my wife, whom I love. I changed the path of the other worlds, but now I can only pray that in this world, Holly and the girls will be able to heal…"

The demon's arm fell back onto the bed and he let out another painful groan. David's eyes closed and his thumb brushed against the hammer of the gun, tugging it back into place.

"However, so long as you remain, they will always live in fear of you. In order to save them from you, to help them recover, I must end you…" He pulled the gun up and aimed it inches away from his alternate's face.

"I beg you, please don't."

"How much did Holly and the girls plead?" His stomach churned as bile swirled violently inside and rose up his esophagus like fire. "I hope when those three are up in heaven, you look to them from your spot in hell, and you suffer while watching them be at peace. Untouched and untainted by your foul, vile soul."

"What are you?"

"Not what. Who. And as I said before…I am the _good_ father." He fired off another shot and turned his head away as blood splashed across the bed and on the walls.

He hoped there were other dimensions where he was a good person, but so far he hadn't seen any. Yet, if he could correct the mistakes his alternate versions were making, then he could fix things.

Turning his eyes onto the machine Beck showed him, he curved his lips into a smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe that infernal thing isn't so bad." As much as he hated the machine, it could potentially help him to be a hero to not just his family, but his alternate selves.

So long as there weren't any other evil versions of himself out there. It wasn't easy to put himself down like a rabid dog.

Stepping into the machine, he looked out to the body of the demon and then to the screen. "Holly, Tori, Trina…" He took a deep breath and put his thumb to the print scanner. His smirk deepened as the machine began to fire up. "I'll be back."

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I hope you enjoyed that. Mostly those of my readers that have seen the stories referenced here, but overall I do hope you all enjoyed it.


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